Broadcom in talks to buy VMware; Klarna fires 10 percent of staff; Infosys wins Backcountry contract; 1K Kirana raises $25 mln

Broadcom is in talks to pay around $60 billion for VMware as the semiconductor giant looks to expand into cloud software for enterprises, Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. This would be one of the biggest takeover deals of the year. The two technology companies are aiming to announce a cash-and-stock deal worth about $140 a share on Thursday, assuming the talks don’t fall apart, according to the Journal. A final price hasn’t yet been decided. Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later company, backed by investors including SoftBank Group, is laying off 10 percent of its workforce, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told staff via a pre-recorded video call Monday, Protocol reports. “When we set our business plans for 2022 in the autumn of last year, it was a very different world than the one we are in today,” Siemiatkowski said in the announcement, which is also available as a blog post on the company’s website. "The war in Ukraine, a shift in consumer sentiment, a steep increase in inflation, a highly volatile stock market and a likely recession,” are among the reasons for the layoff, according to the post. The company currently has about 7,000 employees, and a 10 percent cutback puts the number of affected workers at about 700, according to The Verge. The company is also looking for funding, at a valuation of around $30 billion, compared with its previous private valuation of $46 billion, Wall Street Journal reported last week. Infosys has been selected by Backcountry, an online retailer of outdoor gear and apparel, to deliver improved and secure digital experiences to customers, India’s second-biggest IT services company said in a press release yesterday. 1K Kirana, a startup that provides technology to grocery stores, has raised $25 million in its Series B round, led by Alpha Wave Ventures, Economic Times reports. Info Edge Ventures, Kae Capital, and entrepreneurs including the founders of Zetwerk and GoMechanic have also invested in the funding round. Founded in late 2018 by Kumar Sangeetesh, Sachin Sharma and Abhishek Halder, 1K Kirana provides a technology platform for grocery stores in India's smaller cities and towns, according to ET. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds